Photo: Philadelphia.com
Losses continue to mount for the hopeless Brooklyn Nets. They started off the week on a high note against the even more hopeless Philadelphia 76ers. Brooklyn won 100-91, as Bojan Bogdanovic started once again. Bojan scored ten points on four of seven shooting from the field. With rookie first-round pick Rondae Hollis-Jefferson injured, Lionel Hollins has decided to start Bogdanovic, which has been a positive decision.
Brooklyn fought hard, but ultimately fell 105-100 to the Los Angeles Clippers. Bogdanovic was productive with 15 points and six rebounds in 39 minutes of play. It was one of his better games offensively shooting from the outside. Brooklyn couldn’t overcome the dynamic duo of Blake Griffin and Chris Paul.
Bogdanovic lights it up from downtown.
The week ended on a down note, as Brooklyn was blown out by Orlando in a 105-82 loss. Bogdanovic was productive once again with ten points in 34 minutes of action. Brooklyn doesn’t have enough scoring options to beat playoff-caliber teams. While they continue to struggle defensively, opposing teams are tearing them apart. Bojan continues to look a step slow defensively as well.
At 7-17, Brooklyn has one of their busiest weeks of their season. The six-game home stand finishes tonight against Miami. The Nets will take on Indiana on Friday, before playing Minnesota at home on Sunday. The week ends on Monday against Chicago. As the season continues to spiral down, trade rumors will start to surround a rebuilding team. Bogdanovic and Joe Johnson have been the most popular names mentioned on the Nets roster.
Photo: Orlando Sentinel
Mario Hezonja has slowly played himself back into the rotation. While his minutes still remain limited and Scott Skiles continues to be unpredictable, the rookie shooting guard played 21 minutes against Cleveland. It was mostly in garbage time, as Orlando lost 111-76 to a far superior team. Mario scored 12 points, along with shooting three of five from the field. Skiles won’t be happy that his top prospect fouled out in just 21 minutes of action.
Hezonja received 18 minutes against Orlando and made a bigger impression. The rookie shooting guard scored eight points on four of five shooting, which included a nutmeg attempt that will get plenty of attention. Skiles wasn’t very amused by his antics. Nevertheless, Orlando won 105-82 to continue their impressive start of the season.
Hezonja decides to get funky
Orlando starts a three-game home stand starting tonight against Charlotte. A battle between two of the most surprising teams in the Eastern Conference should be intriguing. They face Portland on Friday, before finishing up against Atlanta on Sunday. The week ends on Monday night against the New York Knicks. It will be the first game for Hezonja at the world’s most famous arena. Then again, Skiles’ unpredictable coaching methods could change quickly by putting Hezonja back in the doghouse.
Photo: AFP
Well, the Warriors quest to beat the Lakers 33 straight wins has come to an end in a 108-95 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night. The Warriors were coming off a double overtime win against the Celtics and just simply didn’t have anything in the tank against the Bucks. Golden State would have been the fist NBA team ever to go undefeated on a seven game road trip.
Andrew Bogut once again was a beast for the Warriors in the middle. The stats would say otherwise, but Andrew averaged eight rebounds and three blocks in just 23 minutes of action this week. Bogut talked to CNN this week about a possible contract extension and finishing his career as a Golden State Warrrior:
“Look, we’ll definitely have the discussion (with management this summer about a possible extension for Bogut). There’s no doubt about it. I’m not a greedy guy…I know at what point in my career I am, and I definitely want some stability and to remain in the same place if I can. Obviously this is a great team we have going, and I want to remain here. There’s no doubt about that. But we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. I’d love to stay. I’d love to never be a free agent…I’m happy to stay here if it’s good for both parties, and we’ll see where we’re at.”
ANDREW BOGUT MAKE A WISH
Photo: AP
Minnesota Timberwolves head coach, Sam Mitchell, looks to have brought Damjan Rudež out of the doghouse this week. The Croatian international looked on from the bench against the Lakers on Wednesday and played only 6 minutes in a loss to Denver on Friday. However, Damjan played a season high 22 minutes against the Suns on Sunday and finished the game with 11 points on 4-6 from the field. Besides the three ball, Rudež has struggled in the Minnesota offense and is a liability on defense for a big man. Remarkably, Damjan finished without a shot attempt in 11 minutes of action against Denver on Tuesday.
Photo: Fox Sports
Sacramento Kings undrafted rookie, Duje Dukan, is still looking to make his NBA debut after playing a couple of games for the team’s NBA D-League affiliate, the Reno Bighorns. Duje looked on from the bench against Houston and New York this week.
~Allen Strk reporting from New York and Denis Svirčić reporting from sunny Southern California
I played pick-up black top basketball as a kid, we kept score by ones of course b/c it’s obviously so much easier while your playing the game. Sometimes we’d play on a court that had a three point line, which would inevitably make someone insist we use it and count it as two points; I of course would always protest this by pointing out that that’s doubling the value of a shot made outside the line compared to a shot made inside line. There’s a huge difference between 2 & 3, & 1 & 2. I was astonished to see how this simple math astonished people.
So the Warriors are big sports news now and I’m aware of their style of play, I don’t find tons of 3 point shots interesting but I fully understand why they do it: b/c of simple math. Larry Bird once said that the 3 point shot cheapens the game but since it’s in the rules, he used it to his advantage. Greg Popovich recently lamented this evolution; which is essentially that nba players have become too efficient in 3 point shooting, similar to field goal kickers in the nfl – which has forced the nfl to modify its rules & the footballs w/ regards to kickers.
I can’t think of another sport where you get more credit for scoring from far away than from closer. I know they won’t get rid of the 3 point line and for good reason, but I think sooner or later they’re going to have to do something about the sport not becoming exclusively a layup/dunk & 3 point shot sport; b/c players are only going to become more efficient from the 3 point line. What could be done though? You could increase both the length & width of the court & make the 3 point shot farther; this might not be feasible and eventually the players would just become as proficient from the farther distance as they are now from the current distance. Or you can change the scoring system by making what is now 2 points 3 points and what is now 3 points 4 points, thereby lessening the value of a shot made from beyond the arc.
I figured it out, Notmy Realname and Ziva were once the best of friends, but when Ziva got married he couldn’t hang out as much with NmRn anymore, eventually they stopped hanging out all together and NmRn has been bitter ever since. If I could give NmRn some advice, it would be to just let Ziva go, Ziva has clearly moved on and all that bitterness will eat you alive, for your own health just let it go.
Why would a douche bag post Ziva’s name and where he’s from? Notmy Realname must be bitter because Ziva doesn’t want to be his friend anymore.
wow, breaking news – Ziva is Tony M. from Cleveland. Piece by piece, we’re breaking the mystery that is Ziva Istina.
@Notmy Realname
If I’ve written so many shit comments, what’s taken you so long to criticize me whilst not using your real name? You an atheist as well, you seem to have taken my comments about Bogut personally? One thing I will say is, I admire your honesty in admitting that you’re a douche bag, according to you criticizing someone whilst not using your real name is what douche bags do!
Funny, you encourage everyone to post their real names while you continue to not….whattup?!? LOL
Cekic,
And, even if he is. So? What are you trying to say with that? I don’t get it.
I am a diaspora myself by birth and education, but I have moved back to CRO and reading your shit/opinions is/are fucking embarrassing.
To make things worse I know Tony M (from Cleveland and lives in Chicago) / Ziva personally. What a piece of shit that guy is. I wish I never went to his wedding, that fucking troll, piece of shit Yugoslav.
@Notmy Realname
Bogut is 100% atheist, I checked.
The only douche bags on this site are the ones using a nickname/avatar to criticize others. Whether it’s Bogut, and if he is in in fact an atheist who cares? Religion doesn’t have to define ones ethnicity, even though statistic state that 90%-ish of the population is Catholic. And what’s up with calling Hezonja Grobar? Haven’t you read any of his interviews? The kid is about as patriotic as they come. Man, I remember the days when I used to enjoy reading the majority of the posts on this site and there were a lot of cool people posting, but it seems like a lot of them have given up… I encourage all of you negative nellies to post using your real names. Like, I hope Yugoslavia beats Croatia because Josip Simuc is playing, Tony M, Ziva Udba, for example.
Agreed that Grobar Hezonja will be fine. Long season in the NBA.
You guys have been around for a while, I just discovered this site in June!
Anyway I just watched the interview with Bogut and I found him to be a real douche bag.
@Denis
Mario is not in trouble in Orlando.
He, along with Aaron Gordon, are pretty much the only untouchables on the team. Elfrid Payton is also, to a lesser extent. Even Victor Oladipo and Nik Vucevic are not as untouchable as they are.
Hezonja, right now, is actually doing pretty well. He’s got a BEAUTIFUL stroke, and Magic fans are going crazy for him because they know that they got themselves a 50/40/90 player (for those who don’t know, a 50/40/90 player means 50% overall shooter, 40% from the 3-point line, and 90% from the free throw line). That’s a rare player.
He’s already shooting 40% from three and 90% from the line, and his minutes are wildly inconsistent. It’s VERY hard to maintain good percentages without consistent playing time. This says a lot. Just watching his highlights, you can see that his shooting will be ELITE.
Problem with Hezonja is that he is turnover prone, largely do to the way he brings up the ball. He also takes a lot of risks. Just a few days ago he actually NUTMEGGED a player. Who the hell nutmegs someone in the NBA? It was awesome, but Skiles was visibly pissed. I’m sure that’s probably the reason for his DNP tonight.
Scott Skiles is a disciplinarian who believes in young players paying their dues, even if they are already better than the older vets. Aaron Gordon has been a model player this season, working hard in the offseason to gain lean mass, improved his game, hustles like crazy on defence…yet he gets less minutes than in his rookie year. Fans are very upset, but it’s probably better in the long run.
Unlike Porzingis’ situation in New York, Mario Hezonja is on a team with a lot of depth at the 2 and 3 positions. Evan Fournier is on a contract year, and had an amazing start to the season. Tobias Harris was signed to a big contract in the summer and has been playing decent too. You can’t ignore their #2 pick in Victor Oladipo as well.
However, as this season progresses, you can see Fournier coming back down to Earth. He has a good skillset, but he’s lately been having quite a few stinker games, despite being given full reign and consistent starter minutes. His averages have dropped significantly. Orlando fans know that he has value, but not a long term starter solution.
Victor Oladipo, despite being the #2 pick in the 2013 draft, is starting to show that he has no real All-Star potential. The Magic starters play better when he’s not on the floor, and is looking moreso like a career sixth man on a good playoff team (or a starter on a non-playoff team). He’s lost his starting spot, and the impact has been positive. He probably won’t get that extension this summer, and if I were his agent, I would try to get traded to a crappy team where he can stuff his stats and get a contract based on his lottery pick status and inflated stats. Orlando will likely let him play out his fourth season and go into Restricted Free Agency, or trade him before then (if he’s not down with a long term sixth man role).
Tobias Harris is solid, but he’s already reached his ceiling. Never a high potential guy. They signed him to prevent losing an asset for nothing. In the long run, I doubt that all of Fournier, Harris, and Oladipo will be on the team. One of them will be packaged with picks and other players to upgrade another position.
Hezonja is supposed to provide what Fournier is providing right now, but with All-Star potential (something that none of Fournier, Oladipo, and Harris have). Gordon has it too. Payton looks like a good player, but maybe not All-Star caliber. Vucevic is good, but for some reason has one of the worst ON/OFF stats in the league (this stat tracks how his teammates play when they share time with him on the floor). He is only one of a few in the league where his entire team plays worse with him out there, lol. Still a good player, but wouldn’t be surprised to see him included as the centerpiece in a big trade (with picks and couple other player) to nab a big time player.
I’m not worried about Hezonja though. He will be an excellent player.
Bogut is a class act. Full respect to him on how he handled the Simunic incident.
Dude is a proud Croat.
He’s the only athlete (or celebrity) that addressed the Za Dom chant and questioned the relatively new belief that it is somehow an evil Nazi chant. He smartly and eloquently talked about it, and gave his point of view (which is more than any other “Croat” ever did).
That interview could have easily been overblown in the media and taken out of context. He could have easily been tagged as some Nazi sympathizer by the Serbian propaganda machine, but he didn’t hesitate to discuss the topic when you guys brought it up to him.
Bogut seems like he’s a real piece of garbage, an atheist calling out “the crnci” for their “crni lifestyle?” Tito is in Hell and Bogut can go join him. I call out Bogut’s mum and dad for failing him.
HE could at 91 generation hrvat…….those are the ones who discovered they were croatian in 1991.
Best was when he called out all the crnis for the crni lifestyle. Michael Redd, his teammate at the time got so mad.
What about about his Squad 6 “hooligans” in Milwaukee. Seems like they are still going strong. At least they were singing all game against the Warriors. Not sure if that was because of him being there.
But Tito was Croatian, can you be a Tito lover and a Croat?
Who gives a shit if Bogut listens to Thompson, he’s still an atheist and that cancels out listening to Thompson. I think Bogut is a piece of crap.
If true. Dude is not Croatian if he is a Tito lover. ( Can’t be true)
If true. Dude is not Croatian if he is a Tito lover.
No way Bogut is a Tito lover. Guy listens to Thompson all the time and puts it on his social media accounts.
So Bogut is atheist like his boy Josip Broz Tito. I have heard that his family are huge Tito lovers, I guess my mate wasn’t talking shit, it all makes sense now.
You guys should invite him to Sacramento Extravaganza and interview him there.
I agree with Maminjo, Bogut is Croatian. How Croatian? Is he the biggest Croatian? I don’t know and I don’t care. Dude is Croatian in my book.
Bogut is still a beast defensively. The Warriors know when and how to use him with a 20-25 minute cap. “Andrija” can last another 3 years like that.
I had a feeling that Hezonja will have problems with Skiles. Orlando is actually getting results with Mario on the bench. Mario could be in trouble if the Magic make the playoffs.
@Ziva,
I agree that football federations should be compensated for developing talent that jump ship.
@Ravni Kotari,
I would like to interview Dukan one day. I’m interested to see what the gameplan is with him. He’s not injured, but sits in a suit next to the team every game. Why not play in the D league?
Divac totally hooked up Dukan. Seems like a nice kid but I don’t know if he deserves a spot.
When was Porcelain Doll Bogut approached by the Cro savez? Was it already too late? Did the Australian national team use him very early, even before he was really ready in order to lock him up and avoid having him poached by Cro?
Is he really an atheist?????? If so, I guess that answer the questions about him being a hrvat. If you aint visitng Isus Krist on Sundays than you aint a hrvat.
I know there is a lot of pressure on the ethnic kids in Australia to commit to Australia because of the tax-funded development they get from the Australian Sports Institute (I might have the actual name of the NGO wrong, but I think it is something close to that name). I do think there should be some sort of compensation given to a countries federation when a player is poached. For example, Rakitic was developed by the Swiss federation, there should be a FIFA rule that they should receive compensation when they lose a player……But, that is a topic for another time.
Agreed on Hezonja. A top 5 pick should be getting time. They only situation where he shouldn’t is the Milicic example when he was drafted by the Pistons and they were an NBA title contender and defending champs. You are trying to win a title and don’t have the time to develop a player. But, we all know Orlando is not a title contender, so he should be getting at least 18 minutes per game. But, to be fair I don’t watch every game of Orlando, so I don’t know if he is playing D when he does get in there. Skiles is old school and he will take a kid out for no D, lack of effort or bad shot selection.
Shoes Bender is interesting, but no trust in that kid right knowing he favors his shoes over the repka.
Croatians are Catholic, unlike Bogut who is an atheist.
Bogut je pravi Hrvat !
Should have scooped him up as a 19 year old, but the arrogance of our people can be EXTRA-ordinary.
God bless Skiles and his no non sense approach … BUT … you picked the kid 5th and you bury him on the bench in less than 2 months ? Budala.
Hezonja has shown the 3 ball touch. He can hang athletically and is learning to play with defensive intensity and awareness. Also seems to be able to make some plays off the pick and roll.
Give the kid 15 minutes a night and you will see his progression. No All-Stars on Orlando, so give me a break.
Porzingis is awesome AND he is set up to be successful. He particularly dominates as a Sabonis like skilled 5 and he blocks shots and rebounds. Imagine if he was Croatian ? Dragan Bender PLEASE put on your Jordan’s for the next tournament !
The question to ask regarding Porcelain Doll Bogut is if he loves the “za dom……spremni” lifestyle, speaks Croatian and embraces and advocates the culture. If the answer is yes, then he is a Hrvat.
Bogus is like an NFL Offensive Lineman Tackle.
As much as injuries have slowed down his career, Bogut is still the best defensive center in the league.
Even this year, he’s 2nd overall in Defensive Rating (behind Kawhi Leonard) and first overall in Defense Box plus/minus.
Golden State have the luxury of going from their super powered small ball offence to a half court game and have one of the best defensive anchors to play that style as well.
Bogut is probably about as Croatian as you can get
yeah does he count as a croat..does he fit ziva’s standard to be considered a croat???
Bogut is still a beast in the middle. I can see the Warriors giving him an extension this summer.
i was at the knick game last night porzingis is a beast…every croat in the league is garbage right now
I thought Grobar Hezonja would of been having a stronger start than Kris Porzingis on my beloved Knicks.
but damn, Porzingis is nassssssssty – early ROY favorite